‘Is it Thursday or Friday today?’ – I feel that my sense of time is completely off, and yet I can’t believe it’s been more than an entire month since social distancing started 😲 I’ve been staying in Helsinki since our studies switched to online, didn’t expect to find myself here still 😅 I suppose things aren’t so different from Salzburg when you have to stay inside anyway, but I’ll share some stuff I do with my time in this city to make myself feel “everything will be okay” (even though I don’t really know when I can fly back to Salzburg 😂).
The ocean & forests
When the weather is nice, I go for a walk / ride a bike to the Baltic sea and the forests nearby. Where the sunshine reflects on the surface of the sea and where the mild sunshine comes through between the trees. Spend some time to appreciate the beauty of nature.
Sauna
Finland and sauna are an inseparable pair, under any circumstances 🧖♀️ A lot of apartment buildings and houses (and bars, government offices, companies, and even Barger king!) in Finland have their own sauna to be used all year round (fyi: there are approx.2 million saunas for a county of 5.5 million inhabitants). Where I’m staying, of course, has one for its residents where you can reserve for an hour for free. Drinking beer or Lonkero (classic Finnish sauna drink made from gin & grapefruit soda 😋) while sweating crazy in the heat helps me organize my mind and excrete my concerns and negative thoughts with perspiration.
The Internet, thank you for being here
As it’s probably the same for everyone, I spend a lot of time with my internet. So, here, I quickly share a couple of ideas that I encountered while I was lying on my bed being uselessly lazy & surfing the web (to effectively cope with lockdown, of course 🤝). I found the ideas creative and useful that brought a little smile to my sleepy face 🤤 Seeing this difficult time can be turned into opportunities to create something innovative simply inspires me and let me learn the importance of staying positive.
TipStick
A handbag-sized item to avoid touching things, which basically means in the current world ‘avoiding possibilities to get the virus’. You could also in a way contribute to the environment by using it instead of disposable gloves. https://tipstick.at/
Pictures: TipStick
Traditional Masks
Austrian handmade masks made by the clothes of a beautiful Austrian traditional dress, Dirndl 😍 When the national borders are closed and human contacts are restricted, something that reminds you of this beautiful culture and fun festivals where you wear dirndls may cheer you up a little bit? You could also contribute to the environment by avoiding using the classic disposal masks. https://trachten-masken.com/products/mund-nasen-schutzmaske-baumwolle
Picture: TrachtenMasken
New marketing tool?
A lot of people now spend most of their time in front of the computer for online conferences, lectures, webinars or just drinking wine together with your friends 🍷 While people start making their own original (funny) backgrounds for online chats, organizations also started releasing free wallpapers to be used. When social distancing is the norm and people cannot actually go use the products/services, it could be a good e-marketing opportunity to hold the customer’s attention?
Airbnb provides backgrounds using actual images of Airbnb homes, so it may give you inspiration for where to go on your next holiday when the COVID-19 crisis is finally over 👋 👋 👋 https://news.airbnb.com/inside-looking-out-10-views-to-transport-you-outdoors/
Home in Medieval Luberon Village in France. Picture: Airbnb
